Wingsuit accident in the mountains - level 3

The veteran wingsuit flyer Victor Kovats has died after failing to deploy his parachute prior to landing at the world championships in China.

Kovats's body was found on Wednesday morning at the foot of a cliff in Tianmen Mountain National Park in Zhangjiajie City after a team of more than 200 rescuers searched the forests by foot. Kovats was flying on Tuesday afternoon. It was windy in the well-known scenic spot, which is the stunning, mountainous area that director James Cameron used to shoot views for “Avatar.”

It’s the second consecutive year Zhangjiajie has hosted the wingsuit flying world championships, and 16 flyers from around the world took part. Kovats was the fourth contestant to fly on Tuesday, but a powerful gust of wind derailed him from the planned route, and then the parachute failed to open due to technical problems.

Kovats was an extreme-sport veteran, parachuting well over 1,000 times and wingsuit jumping 700 times.

Wingsuiting involves flying through the air using a special jumpsuit, which adds surface area to the human body to create an increased lift. A wingsuit flight normally ends with a parachute opening, so usually, depending on the conditions, a wingsuit can be safely flown from any point that provides sufficientaltitude for flight and parachute deployment.